Tropical Lime Cookies

My daughter found this gem of a recipe she made for a Luau party she is having. They are super yummy!!! It is from theCookies for a Year of Celebrations cookbook. Enjoy:

Tropical Lime Cookies

1 1/4 C Confectioners sugar

1 C Crisco (Butter Flavored) (We used regular)

1 egg

1/4 C pancake syrup

2 T lime juice (we used lemon juice)

2 T grated lime peel

2 1/2 C all-purpose flour

3/4 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 C flaked coconut

Confectioners sugar

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Place sheets of foil on counter for cooling cookies.

2. Place confectioners sugar and shortening in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add egg, syrup, lime juice and lime peel; beat until well blended and fluffy.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add gradually to shortening mixture, beating at low speed until well blended. Stir in coconut.

4. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet.

5. Bake one baking sheet at a time at 325 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until bottoms of cookies are light golden brown. Do not overbake. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to foil. Dust warm cookies with confectioners sugar. Cool completely. Garnish as desired.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

His Calling

This past March, I had the lovely opportunity to spend some very much needed time in the beautiful Amelia Island in Florida. It was four days of being surrounded by the beauty of the Island and the beauty of friendship. Three very special girlfriends and I shared laughter, walks on the beach, hugs, stories, shared memories, and peaceful, quiet moments enjoying the awesome beauty of the Island, and each other. 


These women are strong women of Faith and being in their presence lifted me up and gave me strength to face the next few months of living in a new community (as we had moved from our home in PA of 14 years to Ohio in the late summer). I was bolstered by their friendship and love and our trip gave me the added confidence I needed to adjust to all the changes I still had to face as a new resident. It was so good to be in a place so full of beauty, love and friendship. 


The beach is one of my favorite places in the world! There is something so magical about the sounds of the waves crashing on shore, the breathtaking beauty of the expansive blue sky, the sounds of the little shore birds chasing the waves ("Peeps, as my family and I call them), the smell of the salt air. It's just the perfect place to find peace and rejuvenation.


While in Amelia Island, I came across the most lovely book. It is filled with the author's inspirational "Seaside Reflections" and gorgeous photography of the Island. It is definitely one of my favorites. I hope you will enjoy it. It is written by an Amelia Island resident by the name of Ann Marie Melson. The book is entitled, The Work of the Lord.  Amelia Island, by definition, means "The Work of the Lord." I would like to share an excerpt from the book for you. It is called, "His Calling."

     "The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in

         the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass 

by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the 

         mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the 

         Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind

         there was an earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the

         Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a

         gentle whisper..."

                           ~ 1 Kings 19:11-12

I have come to know the Lord to be subtle in His call. Similar 

to Elijah, I often wait for obvious signs. Shattered rocks and earthquakes

grab my attention. In fact, sometimes I am so busy waiting for a shout, that

I miss the gentle whisper. This morning I woke up with a sense of urgency.

The stillness of the dawn captured my attention. My time on the beach

inspired a rush of thoughts. Waiting for the sun to hit the horizon, I came to understand

a characteristic of the Lord: His gentleness.

Listen for the quiet call of the Lord. Sometimes His greatest

lessons and most poignant guidance come in the form of a whisper.

He has a calling for your life. Have you listened intently to discover it?

What noise distracts you from hearing His call?

To what are you listening? Do not limit

yourself to the powerful wind or the fierce fire.

Some grace-given assignments echo 

in the softness of a whisper.

Between the fading stars and dawning in the new day's light

A time of simple stillness calls me out of the lingering night.

Before the buzz of life, I'm rising, stirring from my bed,

Now wide awake and to the shore, the place my heart is led.

Quietly, I listen for the whisper that will teach.

Barefoot, I will open my heart, in silence stroll the beach.

While feet brush into shells, my soul is touched by His own hand --

A morning ordinary? No, but rather something grand.

The shoreline sweeps beyond the bend, traced by a single bird.

The scene before my eyes: an ocean speaks the Living Word.

Humbled by His beauty and the sea breeze gentle kiss,

My heart pours forth its joyful song and fills with graceful bliss.

Today stands here before me; I won't let this moment fall.

Tomorrow is uncertain; faith today must heed the call.

Lord, make me your song's instrument and show me where to play,

And like this morning, cover me with warmth of guiding ray.

I yearn for overwhelming sound, for evidence to show;

Your gentle whisper echoes all I'll ever need to know

Of promises and faithfulness. Your perfect record cries

That we can trust the gentle voice that takes us by surprise.

~ Ann Marie Melson

Have a day full of Looking UP! Open your heart to hear the Lord's  gentle whisper.

Josh, You Raise Me UP!

Last night was an AMAZING night of Looking UP! I had the AWESOME opportunity to see Josh Groban in concert at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. Josh Groban is magical! I can't quite put into words how his voice makes me feel. He has such a natural and genuine presence about him. The minute he comes out on stage you feel like he is singing JUST to you! That's how I felt the whole time! Like he was singing just to me. His voice sweeps over you like a warm breeze. It fills the deepest parts of your being with warmth and feeling...o.kay, that borders on being WAY too cheesy and gushy, but what can I say??? (I have to admit having a slight, school-girl crush on Mr. Josh Groban - just so you know. I could go on and on, it wouldn't be difficult, that's for sure.) 

But seriously, listening to Josh sing is really magical. And I have to say, he sounds exactly like he does on his CD's! Hearing him LIVE was all the more sweet because you hear him and see him sing. He is amazing! He has such a boyish charm about him, too. You just want to "take him home to mom," as the saying goes. You never know if an artist will sound the same live, as they do on a recording, but Josh's talent is transcendent. His band plays acoustically, and are phenomenal, too. A couple them have been with him since the beginning of his career, which started for him at age 17. He is only a young, 30 now!

He is such a down-to-earth performer, too - like "the boy-next-door," you just feel an instant connection to him. Here is this MEGA, MEGA superstar, multi-million or billion dollar man wearing simple black, skinny jeans, a white tee with a jacket and white sneakers, promising the audience that he will "try to sing his ass off" for us, as he said, we had "spent like a gazillion dollars to see him..." Too funny.. 

The first thing he did was welcome the Columbus audience, sharing with us that his dad grew up in Columbus so he felt very strong ties to Columbus. He told of going to his Great-Aunt Sis' for a visit earlier in the day, bringing her flowers and catching up. Then he and the band played some softball and hung out. He told us how a fan had given him a Buckeye bracelet and that he was so surprised, never having seen a buckeye nut before. He laughed easily as he said the fan compassionately told him "not to eat them, that buckeyes were poisonous," laughing all the while as he pretended to "give the bracelet back." He's so endearing. 

Something else that was so cute was that Josh went out into the audience numerous times throughout the evening. He was not afraid to be close to his fans and seemed very comfortable - totally like he wanted to be there. He stopped to talk to a little 7 year old girl asking if she was having fun. He said, "I have like 16 or 17 more numbers to do, so I hope you'll like them," something along those lines. He later invited this little girl up on stage, along with a couple from the audience who were celebrating their 37th anniversary and a young, pretty single woman. He brought out blow-up couches, a little table and offered and poured them wine and a big glass of milk for the little girl. He was so cute, as he said to the little girl, "you just keep drinking that milk, I never woke up naked on the floor from milk, you just drink your milk!" Such a great sense of humor! But can you imagine? That little girl will always cherish the memory of meeting Josh Groban for the rest of her life! What a special night! I hope her parents had their cameras rolling!  (Lots of great scrapping, there!!!!)

I love percussion, and Josh did this fabulous number where he joined his band with his own set of drums. He jammed on the drums! It was incredible! He is such a gifted and unbelievable musician. He sings, not only in English, but Spanish, Portuguese, French, Latin, "gibberish," as he says, AND plays the piano, and drums! I am in awe of that kind of talent - God Given, at that, because that is not something you can learn...I could practice til the cows come home, and I couldn't do what he does so naturally and with such beauty.

There was a Q&A session in which Josh answered questions from the audience. One of the questions was, "Have you ever sung with a female tenor?" Josh asked for the woman to come up to the stage with him, excitedly saying that he had never sung with a female tenor before. They sang Awake together. He invited her to sit right down next to him on the piano bench. (sigh...ahhh!) Another audience member asked Josh if he could ad-lib a verse for her using her name. He sat down at the piano and sang a little tune all about "Kathleen." Talk about cute. He also did some improv impressions that were adorable! He's quite the comedian.

Josh has a Foundation that he is very proud to promote. It is called Find Your Light. Here is a link to read about it. http://www.artsusa.org/news/press/2011/2011_07_06.asp

Continuing his show of support for the arts and education, Josh brought up an audience member, John Jacobsen to join him on stage. You may recognize his name as John Jacobsen had been on the show, America's Got Talent, introducing America to his Double Dream Hands dance.  His popularity has soared on YouTube and John has been invited to such shows as The Ellen Degeneres Show, among others. He, too, is a huge advocate for supporting arts and music in education. Josh was so excited to introduce him, sharing with us that he had had the opportunity to meet him and that he [Josh] was a big fan of John's and admitted to being a great fan of all things Viral!  Josh and John did the Double Dream Hands dance together. It was so cute and just a ton of fun. (I wanted to share the video of them for you, but for whatever reason, I had trouble getting it to show up on my post. I'll try to fix that later...) Josh thanked him and said "he's a teacher, I love him!" Again, soooo endearing!

After thanking the audience and going off stage, Josh returned for his encore and sang the incredibly beautiful, You Raise Me Up. The concert just wouldn't have been complete without hearing that song. The audience was invited to sing along with him on the choruses. Oh, his voice just sends goose bumps up and down. His voice touches you as the listener. It does something for your heart - it's soothes, calms, and envelopes you in its magic. It is the perfect way to "Look Up" and feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I will definitely be playing a lot of Josh Groban on my ipod in the coming days. A big thanks goes out to Josh Groban for an exceptional night of Looking Up!

If It Weren't for You, I'd be Looking Upside Down

If you are "Looking Upside Down"....call a friend!!! Friends are the BEST cure for a state of gloominess!  (Emerald Gem #no. whatever...) Yesterday I received a much needed surprise phone call from a dear friend. We hadn't talked forever. It was so great to hear her voice. We laughed and talked and caught up - and laughed and talked some more. The time flew by as we shared funny stories, cherished memories, talked about our kids, our hubbies, our interests, church - you name it, we talked about it. It was so good to just laugh out loud - I mean a good belly laugh - the kind that leaves you breathless, almost. My friend got me laughing so hard as she described her crazy neighbor who runs around in her bra. The other day,  my friend went to buy fresh eggs from the bra lady. She was greeted at the door by her neighbor who was wearing nothing less than her bra and shorts. The bra lady greeted her warmly, expressing, "Oh come on in........." like it was nothing that she was standing there at the front door in her bra. I might add that she is quite "amply bosomed" as my friend described. I was rolling in laughter. I don't know why, but it struck me so funny in that moment. My friend's laughter is really contagious, too. If you heard her laugh you would not be able to stop yourself from joining in. We ended our conversation by promising to call each other more often. That was fun!

Friendship is truly uplifting! One of my favorite sayings is "A true friend is one who knows everything there is about you, and loves you anyway!" I started my day off yesterday feeling rather upside down, and got right back to "looking up" after my wonderful phone call with my friend. Here's to friendship and "Looking UP!"

Serious Yumminess

Thought you'd enjoy some pictures of the Blackberry Bounty Cake I made from the fresh wild blackberries we picked from our property.

Wish you could smell this cake! Can't you just taste the yumminess?

A slice of heaven.

Here's the recipe: (from Global Cookbook)

Ingredients:

1/2 C butter, softened

1 C flour

1 C plus 1 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp baking powder

2 Large eggs

1 C to 11/2 C fresh blackberries

Powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Grease and flour a 9" spring-form pan. In a bowl, combine sugar and butter beating with mixer for 3 minutes. Add flour, baking powder, and eggs. Stir to combine, then beat on high until batter is stiff and well blended. Scrape batter into cake pan and spread top smooth.

2. Scatter berries evenly over batter. I added the following as a topping: 1/2 C sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/3 C flour, and 1/4 C soft butter, mixed together to resemble crumbs. (You can skip the extra calories if you want and just add a Tbs. of sugar sprinkled over the berries like the original recipe called for.)

3. Bake on the center rack of a 350 degree oven just until the cake begins to pull away from the pan, about 55 to 60 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes and remove outer spring-form. When cool, dust with confectioners sugar.

4. Note: You may use any juicy berry except strawberries, or cover surface of batter with a layer of fruit slices - plum, apricot, nectarine, peach, apple, or pear.

Here's to Looking Up! This recipe will definitely bring a smile to your face.

Mistakes

Your differences are what make you special!

I found myself replying to a dear friend's post on Face Book this morning with these words: "NEVER fear making mistakes! A sculptor can't turn a lump of clay into a thing of beauty without kneading and molding the clay first!!!!!! You are a fantastic, glorious work in progress! Don't run from the fires of the forge - it makes the strongest steel!!!" I started thinking about the words I chose and how I really need to heed my own advise. Gosh, making mistakes is how we grow. I read a great quote that says, "the only real mistake is never making any!" I love that! I have made so mistakes that I wouldn't even be able to list them here - I'd run out of room. The verdict is still out as to whether the outcome of these mistakes has been for the better (lol), but I do know that the things in life that cause us the most challenge are the tings that we are supposed to gain something from - something that could perhaps help someone else who is experiencing the same trial, or perhaps help us gain a new perspective or attitude. I love how something as simple as an attitude adjustment can make you see something so completely differently. Changing perspective - "Looking Up," in my case. Sometimes you just have to continue to "LOOK UP!" So, today, I will seek to change my perspective, and have an attitude adjustment of sorts. Today, I will Look Up! That same friend to whom I replied this morning also led me to another awesome quote by Audrey Hepburn: "NOTHING is impossible. The very word says I'm possible." 


Have a great week of possibilities, new perspectives, growth from mistakes and maybe you, too, will gain a new attitude toward what makes you stronger - the forging of the steel! Here's to Looking Up!     

A Bounty of Happiness

My Hubby sweetly asked me to accompany him in gathering wild blackberries this morning. This daily jaunt around our acreage brings an instant smile to his face, as he sets off in search of his "bounty," as he likes to call it. The first time he and the kids had picked berries from our property, he came in proudly displaying a huge bowl of the prized fruit and excitedly exclaimed, " Look at my BOUNTY........!!!!" It makes me giggle every time I think of it. I picture him like a cave-man of sorts, pounding on his chest, as he brings home the food of the land...the family bounty..."me provider, me hunter...me get food for family...!" 


Clad in a favorite, worn-in tee-shirt, shorts and his extra-tall, camo muck boots, home-made walking stick in hand, he sets off to find the ripest berries. He claims this time outside, enjoying our property, listening to the birds singing, the bees buzzing, dragon-flies gliding by, to be so relaxing.  Our puppy, Crosby, tags along, as well. In fact, he has become quite accustomed to berry picking time; his little ears perk up at the mere mention of bounty hunting. 


I, too, enjoyed the hunt.  We found about a cup and a half of beautiful, ripe blackberries - so sweet they don't even need sugar. (I  might just whip up some delicious blackberry dessert for later!)

In these moments of happy bounty hunting, I will continue to "Look Up!"

The 10/40 Window

The 10/40 Window

Sunday's sermon at church got me thinking really long and hard about my Christianity, my faith, and my beliefs. This one thought keeps going through my mind, “I want to do more……!” I want to contribute in some tangible way to people who live their lives in daily struggle, hunger, fear, and hopelessness. The sermon introduced the term The  10/40 Window, a term I was not familiar with. The 10/40 Window is where the majority of people who are oppressed, hungry, impoverished, in pain, and living with fear live. Wikepia gives this definition:  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 10/40 Window is a term coined by Christian missionary strategist Luis Bush in 1990^[1][2] to refer those regions of the eastern hemisphere located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator, a general area that in 1990 was purported to have the highest level of socioeconomic challenges^[3][4] and least access to the Christian message and Christian resources^[5][6][7] on the planet.

The 10/40 Window concept highlights these three elements: an area of the world with great poverty and low quality of life, combined with lack of access to Christian resources.

The Window forms a band encompassing Saharan and Northern Africa, as well as almost all of Asia (West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and much of Southeast Asia). Roughly two-thirds of the world population lives in the 10/40 Window. The 10/40 Window is populated by people who are predominantly Muslim, Hindu,Buddhist, Animist, Jewish or Atheist. Many governments in the 10/40 Window are formally or informally opposed to Christian work of any kind within their borders.

Here is a picture:

John W. Zumwalt, in a blog posting from Heart of God Ministries, entitled,  After God's Own Heart: A Study in Intimacy, discussed The 10/40, saying,

“When you think of the starving children with bloated stomachs, malnutrition and disease, this is where they are. When you think of the oppressive governments in the world, you think of Tien An Men Square. You think of the human rights violations in Miramar (Burma) or the killing fields of Cambodia. You think of Iraq and its gassing and torture of the Kurds to the north and the Shiites to the south. They are here in this Window. Corruption abounds, and totalitarian governments seem to have permission to do whatever they will with their people.

When you think of natural disasters, this is the area in which they take the worst toll. You remember when Hurricane Andrew smashed into Florida...That very same week a cyclone, which is the same thing as a hurricane, smashed into Bangladesh and 300,000 people in Bangladesh died in that storm. We cannot comprehend that number.”

The 10/40 is a region of despair. It is the region of the world where the poorest of the poor live. I read that the average income is barely $200 per month per family in some regions. They must be not only poor in worldly terms of monies, but poor in spirit, as well. Hopelessness brings despair, despair brings hopelessness...I would think that living in that environment would invite hopelessness to grow and fester like an open wound.

An important point my pastor made in his sermon was that this Window or region of people were considered “unreached” and have never been given the opportunity to hear the gospel. This is greatly important to me, but I want to concentrate on another aspect of the impact of knowing about The 10/40 Window - that is the desire I have to do something. I realize that I am not equipped or necessarily ready to do something grand or great, but even little things done in love can have lasting and profound ends. With this in mind I began to think about ways I could help.

Here is a list of things I could do:

·        PRAY – there is definite power in prayer, so if I commit to remembering all the people who live in The 10/40 Window and offer daily prayer for their comfort, safety, and care, I could help. Prayer changes things! I will pray.

·        I can be more informed! If I learn more about this region and the different organizations and missions that are trying to make a difference, there may be more ways that I can help. But in not knowing, I cannot begin to understand how I can help. Sharing awareness can be a help.

·        Sharing some of the really awesome sites I’ve learned about would make helping as easy as typing in the web address and going from there. Here are a few that may be relevant: (I cannot take credit for the research behind finding these sites – mostly they come from other sources which I will site as I go along. The descriptions, although loosely edited, are provided by the original sources.)

The following 6 sites I read about in an article written by Nicholas D. Kristof of the New York Times. Kristof points out that these are a few of the lesser known organizations that can and are making a big impact.

        1. www.ArzuStudioHope.org Arzu employs women in Afghanistan to make carpets for export. The women get decent wages, but their families must commit to sending children to school and to allowing women to attend literacy and health classes and receive medical help in childbirth.

        2. www.fonkoze.org Fonloze is a terrific poverty fighting organization for Haiti. A $20 gift will send a rural Haitian child to elementary school for a year, while $50 will purchase a family a pregnant goat.

        3. www.pih.org (Partners in Health) Another great Haiti-focused organization which provides therapeutic foods, a lot like peanut butter, to treat a severely malnourished child for one month. PIH also contributes to providing agricultural implements and training for a family to grow food for itself. (My youth group made the peanut butter supplement, called “Plumpy Nut” during a 30 Hour Famine weekend. The recipe is at the end of the post. It is quite good and the kids loved it.)

        4. www.panzifoundation.org   Panzi Hospital treats victims of sexual violence in eastern Congo, the rape capitol of the world. Contributions pay for transport to a hospital for a rape victim and for counseling and literacy and skill training for a survivor for a month.

        5. www.camfed.org (Campaign for Female Education) Camfed sends girls to school in Africa and provides a broad support system for them.

        6. www.somaly.org (Somaly Mam Foundation) fights sex slavery in Cambodia and around the world. It is run by Somaly Mam, who was sold into Cambodian brothels as a young girl before escaping years later.

        7. www.WorldVision.org  When I was a Youth Ministries Director my youth group participated in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine. World Vision is an amazing organization dedicated to helping overcome poverty and hunger in the lives of children and their families.

The following sites I learned about through a fantastic book by Zach Hunter, entitled, Generation Change. In the book, Zach shows how we can contribute to change. It’s an awesome read! Zach focuses a lot on how to help children in our hurting world.

        8. www.soles4souls.org  Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you. The charity distributes these shoes to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class, or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away over 14 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes (currently donating one pair every 7 seconds.) The shoes have been distributed to people in over 127countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States.

9. www.jedidiahusa.com   Wear your cause by purchasing one of Jedidia’s cool shirts. Jedidia sportwear is a series of shirts designed to speak out about problems facing the world today. In 2010 World-renowned surf photographer,Aaron Chang, accompanied Jedidiah’s founder, Kevin Murray, on a trip to Cambodia to meet and photograph the community. Four of his photos have been used to create a special edition line of T-shirts that will benefit World Vision’s efforts to protect innocent children from the sex trafficking trade in Cambodia. $10 from the sale of each shirt will be used to fund the construction of the international humanitarian agency's trauma recovery center that will hold more than 70 children per year in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

        10. www.love146.org  This organization used to be called Justice for Children International. They renamed themselves in honor of a young girl they saw being sold who had been given a number (146) instead of being called by her name. On their Web site you’ll find many ways to get involved in helping free children from sex trafficking.

        11. www.ijm.org IJM, or International Justice Mission, is

a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local officials to ensure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators and to promote functioning public justice systems.

        12. www.compassion.com On this site you can sponsor a child and your investment can help break the cycle of poverty and give hope to a child.

        13. www.adventconspiracy.org Check this site out to see how you can spend less and give more.

        14. www.drytears.org Dry Tears raises money to provide clean water.

        15.  www.nothingbutnets.net     Your contribution can help protect a child from malaria carrying mosquitoes by providing a chemically treated mosquito net to give each person a safe place to sleep.

        16. www.tomsshoes.com  Toms Shoes is an innovative company that not only makes cool shoes but also provides shoes for poor children around the world.  With every pair of shoes you purchase from Toms, a second pair will be given to a child in need.

The reality that poverty and despair exist is just mind-boggling. My heart aches for those people affected by such hopelessness and chaos. There is so much hurt in the world. I know it’s easy for me to sit here and blog about such a huge human crisis while I enjoy all the comforts of living in a wealthy country, where , personally, I don’t have to worry about hunger, utter poverty, a safe place to sleep and rest, or where my next meal is coming from, but it is vital that I show compassion and love and concern for those in need. It’s not much, but in some small way, maybe by sharing some of these important sites, and sharing about The 10/40 Window, others will find ways in which they can help, too. I will pray and I will continue to become more informed and aware. I will continue to “Look Up” and share hope. 

"Plumpy Nut Recipe"

2 C Peanut Butter

2 C Powdered Dry Milk

2 Tbsp. powdered confectioners sugar

1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil

Mix together and enjoy!

Refrigerate.

PLUMPY NUT RECIPE: 2 cups peanut butter, 2 cups powdered (dry) milk, 2 TBSP

powdered sugar, 1/2 TBSP vegetable oil. Mix well, use a hand blender if you have one.

Humor Me

Laughter. Oh the joy of a good laugh!  That feeling that starts somewhere in your belly and bubbles forth with loud guffaws, gasps for breath, that bent-over-'cause you can't breathe feeling from laughing so hard you have to hold your stomach. That feels good.  Laughter is good medicine as they say - good medicine for what ails you!  I'd love to go into the Doctor's office and request a prescription for laughter. The script would read, "Take a healthy dose, at least 4-6 times daily, or as needed." That would be great. Laughter, the cure-all of cure-alls.


What makes me laugh? I have to admit that lately it takes quite a lot, but if I really think about it, my first response would have to be my kids. They can brighten my day just by seeing their cute little smiles. My daughter comes up with some very funny quips, completely out of the blue, that just crack me up. And my son, who is busy navigating his way through "teenager-dom" has recently started to repeat everything I say until I'm laughing at him, completely having forgotten what it was I was saying to him. So much for discipline....it all goes out the window when your parenting lecture #No whatever turns into a good belly laugh! Oh well, it could be worse.


My puppy, whom we have fondly nicknamed, "No Brakes" can surely make me laugh. He gets to running so fast after his beloved Frisbee or stick that he veers out of control, almost doing doggy gymnastics to retrieve his toy. It's quite comical. He's just the cutest dog in the universe, anyway, so watching him tumbling through the grass is always good for a laugh.


So today, I'm hoping to bring on the belly laughs, the giggles, the guffaws, the chuckles, and the chortles. Bring it on! In your face stress! Take that life's challenges! Look out...I feel a good laugh coming on!


Charlie Chaplin said, A day without laughter is a day wasted. Here's to Looking Up today and finding lots of opportunities to laugh!


What makes you laugh? 

Powerful Lyrics

These lyrics really spoke to me today.  I hope you feel the power of these words and let them lift you up - always "looking up."

Someone Worth Dying For by Mikeschair


You might be the wife, waiting up at night
You might be the man, struggling to provide
Feeling like it's hopeless
Maybe you're the son, who chose a broken road
Maybe you're the girl, thinking you'll end up alone
Praying God can you hear me?
Oh God are you listening?

Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
Yeah I wanna believe, I wanna believe that
I'm not just some wandering soul
That you don't see and you don't know
Yeah I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Am someone worth dying for

I know you’ve heard the truth that God has set you free
But you think you're the one that grace could never reach
So you just keep asking, oh what everybody's asking

Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
Yeah I wanna believe, I wanna believe that

I'm not just some wandering soul
That you don't see and you don't know
Yeah I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com 
Am someone worth dying for

You're worth it, you can’t earn it
yeah the cross has proven
That you're sacred and blameless
Your life has purpose

And you are more than flesh and bone
Can't you see you're something beautiful
Yeah you gotta believe, you gotta believe
He wants you to see, He wants you to see
That you're not just some wandering soul
That can't be seen and can't be known
Yeah you gotta believe, you gotta believe that you
Are someone worth dying for

You're someone worth dying for
You're someone worth dying for




This is another awesome song, that really grabbed my attention today.  The words are so powerful.  The song is While I'm Waiting by John Waller. You may have heard it in the movie, Fireproof. 

Looking Up

This year has been really tough. It just seems to be getting tougher, too. You know that list of the Top 10 Stressors? I think we have hit them all in the last few years. Job change, job loss, relocation, death of a loved one, serious illness of loved one, financial stress, etc. Those are just a few. That is one of the reasons I decided to start this blog. It seemed that I had a choice to make - I could either wallow in my despair and focus on all the things I perceived as negatives, or "Look Up" and focus on things, ideas, people, sayings, music, books, favorite activities - all those things that are positive and uplifting, and in turn, "look up." 
  Looking Up goes deeper than just finding the positive, too.  It's about falling into the arms of Jesus, "looking up" to Him for strength, comfort, guidance, and His constant reassurance of acceptance and love. It is so hard to give it all to Christ and trust that He has it all in His control. So I started getting into Scripture and the Word, daily, so that I'd find the strength I need to get through the day. Looking Up is looking up to Him, as well as looking up in a positive manner.  I have found the more I focus on Him and His love, the more I can let go of the things that are pulling me down.  It's an amazing feeling.  I still struggle, and it's not easy, but it certainly is easier when you rely on your faith and have hope in the  future. One of my all time favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11 that says, For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I had to decide to really practice what I preach, so-to-speak, and put all of my faith in Jesus when it has been very tempting to just question, "Why????, Lord? I don't understand.....and turn away in anger.  I know God can handle my questioning and He can handle my doubts and insecurities.  I just have to communicate those things to Him in daily, constant prayer.  I learned this year that prayer can be considered a constant awareness of God. (Max Lucado in Come Thirsty) I am certainly aware of God's goodness and His incredible and beautiful creation. I am thankful for the many blessings I have received and hope to always reflect His love in how I love and in my relationships. So, for this day, this hour, this moment, I will Look UP!

I Don't Wanna

How many times have we all said, "I don't want to" (I don't wanna....!)??? I know I have said that about so many things - I don't want to study, I don't want to do laundry, clean the house, apply for that job, wash the car, pay bills, rake leaves, prepare for work, meet with my boss, run errands.....etc., etc., etc., you get the idea.  Remember all those, I don't wannas? Somehow all those "I don't want tos"  have a way of creeping into our daily living.  I just want to turn on the mute button sometimes!  The latest "I don't want to" has been a hard one to tackle.  My daughter is attending an all day basketball camp.  It's very intense and has been very hard.  My daughter is exhausted and feeling frustrated at the length of the camp.  In tears the whole way home last night, she just kept repeating, "I don't want to [go back]." My heart just broke for her.  Obviously, we signed her up with all the best intentions - that she would have an amazing time, learn the game of basketball, meet some new friends, and have fun.  She is usually my little go-getter, so her reluctance has been a huge surprise.  As a mom, I had to really dig deep for encouraging words that would inspire her and make her see that camp IS absolutely fantastic!  My head said, all the right things, but my heart wanted to scoop her up and say, "It's o.k., my darling girl.....you don't have to go back.....no more tears.....there, there!" But there is a much bigger lesson here that I know will be so important for her as she grows up.  Things aren't always easy. Things can be hard and things can be difficult, but we must face our challenges head-on, for on the other side of the challenge is accomplishment, perseverance, and strength.  She will learn that she CAN do it! Not only will she be a better basketball player, she will be stronger girl for it! She went off to camp feeling tired, but at least she hadn't given up. Her strength and perseverance are shining through.